Has Obama's Presidency thus far been what you envisioned?

[Reaganfan]

Just curious for an honest opinion.

[Oakvale]

Yeah pretty much. I was at first a little surprised by the Republican intransigence but I'm used to that at this point.

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

No, but in hindsight it should have been.

[Reaganfan]

No, but in hindsight it should have been.

I'm in agreement with you. To be completely honest, I thought it would be more like he was a liberal version of Reagan, the Teflon-nothing sticks to him-kind of politician. 2009 wasn't that impressive, 2010 and 2011 were horrendous, 2012 was a campaign year and 2013 has been his low point.

Overall, as a conservative, I'm just hoping to run out the clock.

[PJ]

Could have been better. I would still support him in hindsight.

[Mechaman]

It's actually been a little bit more liberal than I imagined it would be.  Right after he appointed Rahm Emanuel I fully expected to see Bill Clinton 2.0.  I was just a bit pleasantly surprised.

So yeah actually, better than I thought it would be.  What a shock.

[Frodo]

Given the circumstances (especially after 2010...), I am more or less satisfied with it. 

[Antonio the Sixth]

Probably not, but then again I was a naive teenager when I first "envisioned" his Presidency...

[afleitch]

It's been better than I had expected.

[Lief 🗽]

I did not expect the racism-fueled hatred and opposition to him by the right to be anywhere near as intense and violent.

[anvi]

It's been better than I had expected.

Really?  How so?  I'm curious.  You might be one of the few folks around here, including me, who has realistic expectations.  

For me, no.  I had the impression that he was going to build more popular support for his policies through grass-roots organizations and put more consistent pressure on Congress during the legislative process that way.  When the health care legislative battle got underway in 2009, it quickly became obvious that GOP party and affiliated groups were going to do much better grass-roots and messaging work than he, and that only strengthened opposition to him in the country and on the Hill.  In addition to this, his policy-making skills have not been impressive; he lets the Dems on the Hill drive the agenda for the most part, and pushes their priorities rather than leads them.  His foreign policy has been a mixed bag; obviously a few major successes, a few bad mess-ups and otherwise lots of status-quo, some of which needs to be changed.  Social policy priorities he has supported I've generally found good.  Fifth year has been one of the worst of any presidency I've seen.  He turned out to be a far better campaigner in both races than a president.  Overall, I'm more disappointed than satisfied.  

Having said all that, I prefer having had him in office to either McCain or Romney.  I'd rather see someone do a less-than-expected job implementing priorities I generally support than achieve great success in realizing priorities I generally oppose.    

[Middle-aged Europe]

At worst, I envisioned Obama's presidency to be the lesser evil compared to Bush Jr.'s presidency or McCain's potential presidency.

So far, Obama hasn't invaded any more countries on phony evidence. He also stopped the use of waterboarding. So my expectation that he's the lesser evil compared to Bush Jr. has been more or less fulfilled.

The whole NSA stuff is bit of a downer though.

[ElectionsGuy]

A failure? Yes, pretty close.

[traininthedistance]

Could have been better. I would still support him in hindsight.

[TDAS04]

Not really.  I expected him to be an above average president, and I think he will be judged as such by the end of his administration.  However, I never expected him to be great enough to live up to the hype of many of his fans in 2008.

[Flake]

I did not expect the racism-fueled hatred and opposition to him by the right to be anywhere near as intense and violent.

This, and I really thought he would be a more populist President.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

It has and hasn't, really. I was completely expecting the surveillance and the expanded use of drones here and abroad, as well as his 2012 reelection over Romney. I also thought he would push for singlepayer healthcare instead of Obamacare, which he hadn't. I didn’t expect the Tea Party to form (though I did hope a grassroots conservative movement would form-be careful what you wish for…) and I certainly didn’t expect Osama would be killed, nor would he cave to my party at the first sign of trouble.

Also, white slavery, First Lady Oprah Winfrey, Iran conquering Israel and restarting the Holocaust, the repeal of the 22nd amendment, and the banning of the Republican, Constitution, and Libertarian Parties has yet to occur .

I did not expect the racism-fueled hatred and opposition to him by the right to be anywhere near as intense and violent.

This, and I really thought he would be a more populist President.

Violent?!? How many shots have been fired at Obama?

No, but in hindsight it should have been.

I'm in agreement with you. To be completely honest, I thought it would be more like he was a liberal version of Reagan, the Teflon-nothing sticks to him-kind of politician. 2009 wasn't that impressive, 2010 and 2011 were horrendous, 2012 was a campaign year and 2013 has been his low point.

Overall, as a conservative, I'm just hoping to run out the clock.

I'd agree with this.

[H. Ross Peron]

Well considering I was Republican when he was inaugurated...

[Flake]

I did not expect the racism-fueled hatred and opposition to him by the right to be anywhere near as intense and violent.

This, and I really thought he would be a more populist President.

Violent?!? How many shots have been fired at Obama?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts_and_plots#Barack_Obama

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/justice/dc-white-house-shooting/

Just a few

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Yes, to a T. I started seriously considering Republican candidates for the presidency only after it was clear he'd be the nominee: He had no idea what he was doing. After five years, he still doesn't. I'm a PUMA through-and-through.

[Oakvale]

Yes, to a T. I started seriously considering Republican candidates for the presidency only after it was clear he'd be the nominee: He had no idea what he was doing. After five years, he still doesn't. I'm a PUMA through-and-through.

PUMAs? I didn't know you were a lonely gay man and/or Republican PR plant.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I did not expect the racism-fueled hatred and opposition to him by the right to be anywhere near as intense and violent.

This, and I really thought he would be a more populist President.

Violent?!? How many shots have been fired at Obama?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_United_States_presidential_assassination_attempts_and_plots#Barack_Obama

http://www.cnn.com/2011/11/17/justice/dc-white-house-shooting/

Just a few

A few people uttering death threats and a guy who shot at windows at government buildings do not constitute actual assassination attempts. The 2005 incident in Georgia was the last serious physical attempt to kill a sitting President.

[Lumine]

Being a naive teenager (not that I have changed anyway) in 2008, I guess I expected Obama to be the anti-Bush in foreign policy, while at the same time being a "moderate hero" in domestic policy. Yet, every single time I discussed that election here in Chile everybody said the same: "He is the next Kennedy! He is going to close Guantanamo and he is not going to invade other countries! He is too nice to be President... Do you think the CIA will try to assassinate him if he wins? He's such a nice and perfect guy... Go to hell, George Bush!" So yeah, people are a little bit dissapointed here...

[Dr. Cynic]

I supported him, I didn't view him with the same hero worship as a lot of my friends did, so I was less bitterly disappointed when he's accomplished less than I hoped. I understand that it probably was never going to be this soaring Presidency, but I think he's been better than what we had 10 years ago.

[TNF]

I regret voting for him.